Al Bhed Savior
by Star99
Summary: A year after the defeat of Vegnagun, a new evil is threatening Spira. This time, Yuna can't save them. Its all up to Rikku now. (RikkuxGippal)
1. Prologue

A/N: Ok guys. This chapter is basically a prologue. It just gets you up to date on everything. So this chapter is incredibly short. I promise they will get longer and more interesting as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 or any related stuff like that. Blah blah blah. You know how it goes.

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Chapter One

It has been one year since Vegnagun was destroyed, and three years since the beginning of the Eternal Calm. And guess what? Here sits good ole' Rikku, with absolutely nothing exciting or adventurous to do.

Everyone basically has their own private lives, with no room for an "immature, bubbly, obnoxious, baby," as Gippal once said. Paine seems to fully agree on that statement, for some odd reason. Anyway, as I was saying, no one really seems to want me around anymore.

Yuna and Tidus got married shortly after his return, and they are expecting their first child soon. Paine and Baralai seem to be getting to know each other _really _well. I wouldn't be surprised if they get married soon. As for Nooj and Leblanc well…I haven't really heard from them since they got married, but I suppose Baralai knows where they are. And Gippal? Last I knew, he was still in Djose being the oh-so-high-and-mighty Machine Faction Leader.

And do you know where I am? I'm out slaving my ass off in the hot desert sun in Bikanel, helping to rebuild Home. It should be done soon, or at least that's what Pop says.

You know what I think? I don't think the Al Bhed's get enough respect. Yeah, I know. The Al Bhed are _slowly_ starting to be accepted into society. But we should never have been excluded in the first place. I mean, look at Yuna; everyone loves her. She defeated Sin and Vegnagun, but you know what? She's half Al Bhed. Do you really think people care? Sure, they know that she is, but I don't think they are willing to accept that.

The people of Spira don't seem to realize that I was with Yuna through both "save the world journeys." But because I am Al Bhed, I don't get recognized.

Now don't get me wrong. I love being Al Bhed; I wouldn't change it for the world. I just don't like how others see us. Ya know?

When I get the chance, I'm going to make a name for myself. I will give us Al Bhed's a good name. This is my story. The story of Rikku; former guardian; former Gullwing; but the Princess of the Al Bhed forever.

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A/N: So, what did you think? Bad, horrible or good? I would really appreciate it if you would review. It only takes about 5 minutes of your time. Even if you don't say but one word, that's fine. Just review. Please? 


	2. Work

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2, nor will I ever.

Chapter 2

**Rikku's POV**

Must morning come so early? You know, one of my favorite things to do is sleep, but I never seem to get enough. So anyways, I guess it's time to go to work. Yippee. There's absolutely nothing I'd rather do than work in a hot desert for eight hours.

So grudgingly, I got out of bed to get ready. I still wear my old thief outfit. I guess it's just more out of habit than anything else. I have really been meaning to get a new look. Hmmm… maybe later.

So I walked out of my little apartment in our half-built Home. I went over to Pops to see what he needed me to do today. He was studying some papers he had in his hand.

"So Pops, any jobs for me today?" I asked.

He looked up at me and said, "Well, I need someone to go pick up some machina parts in Luca. You willin' to do that?"

I didn't even have to think about that one. I mean, I've been dying to get out of here. "Of course I'll go! When do I leave? Soon I hope?"

He stopped I second to study me. He frowned and I knew something bad was coming. "You seem a little too eager to get out of here. Don't you like helping out your fellow Al Bhed?" He said this all a little too sternly for my liking. And all I did was accept a job. Jeez.

I waved my hands frantically. "Of course I like helping out. But, you know, working in the desert gets to ya eventually. I just need a break I guess."

He seemed to consider it before replying, "You better not wait around and go off to who knows where. You are to go straight there and back. Ya hear?"

Man, wonder what his problem is today.

"Yeah yeah. I hear ya. I'll just be going now. See ya later Pops," I said as I ran off towards the airship.

"Now hold on just a second Rikku," he said, stopping me in my tracks. I turned around to look at him to see what he wanted.

"Don't you think you need to know what you're getting before you go running off?" he said. I blushed and walked back over to him. I was so eager to get out of the desert, that I had completely forgotten about that. I feel so stupid sometimes.

"I suppose that might help," I replied.

"Come on. We need to go back to my tent to get the papers." So he led me back to his tent, which just had to be on the other side of the ruins.

Once we got there, he went inside and came back out with a huge stack of papers. "Those aren't all for me are they?" I asked.

"You bet they are. I figured that since you're out you could make a few other stops. It saves me the trouble later on."

"But I thought you said straight there and back?"

"Well, it looks like I changed my mind doesn't it? I need you to stop at Mi'ihen and Djose as well." Wait, I have to go to _Djose_! But that's where Gippal is and all he ever does is torment me.

"Do I _have _to do to Djose? Can't someone else go there?" I whined.

"If you don't go there, then you're not getting out of here. So it's up to you," he said.

I thought about. Well…I did really want to get out. I guess I could just send a crewmember off of the airship to get the stuff. Yeah! That would work.

"Okay, I'll go. See you later Pops!" And then I ran off to the airship. Ever since the Gullwings split up, Brother has been at Home. So of course, wherever he was, the _Celsius _was close by.

Once on board, I quickly went to the Bridge to tell Brother where we were headed.

"Alright Brother. Pops wants us to go pick up some machina parts in Luca, Mi'ihen, and Djose," I told him.

"Djose! Why there? That Gippal could never have anything useful," he practically yelled, while going crazy and running all around the Bridge.

"Just shut up and drive, would ya?" I complained. He went over to the pilot seat and was muttering darkly in Al Bhed. It's amazing the effect a little sister can have on her brother. But he knows I can whip his ass if he doesn't listen, so it's just as well I suppose.

Soon we were off and flying to Luca. I went into the Cabin to get some much deserved sleep.

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A/N: I know. This chapter is really short too, but I have a limited amount of time to type, so this is the best I could do. I felt like I needed to get another chapter up, since the first was so short. I'll have another one up in a few days. Please review! 


	3. Trouble

A/N: Hey! This chapter took me a little longer to get up, but it is longer. So that's a plus! Thanks for your review **Cute-Kitty**. You're the only one who reviewed and it meant a lot. The actual beginnings of the plot might show at the end of this chapter, but most definitely in the next. Sorry, but it's necessary to get this other stuff in.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2.

Chapter 3

Rikku's POV 

When I finally awoke, we were already in Luca. So of course, I had to go give some orders because Brother seems completely lost when no one's telling him what to do. He couldn't make a decision if his life depended on it. So I got up and made my way to the Bridge.

When I got to the doors, I could here a lot of commotion on the other side. When they opened, I couldn't believe what I saw. Apparently, I had been sleeping longer than I thought.

From the looks of things, something really bad had happened. Brother was hysteric and was mumbling incoherently in Al Bhed. Shinra was in his normal spot, but he was typing away furiously. Buddy, unfortunately, was nowhere to be found. At least, I didn't think he was. What do I mean by that? Well…there were about 20 other people packed on the Bridge, all talking loudly and some were hysterical, just like Brother. They all looked at me when I came in.

"What the hell is going on here!" I yelled, looking around for someone to answer me. Buddy popped up from the crowd and told me to follow him. He led me to the front of the _Celsius, _so I could see outside.

I just stared at what I saw. "Are you sure we're in Luca?" I asked Buddy. He slowly nodded his head.

Outside, the city of Luca was in shambles. There was debris everywhere, and bodies littered the ground. We were currently over the square, right in the middle of the city. I really didn't know what the rest looked like, but I sure didn't want to see it.

"W-what h-happened," I asked slowly, barely able to get the words out.

"We're not sure, but from what we know, an explosion came from that café. Some say that fiends attacked, others say the machina went haywire and some exploded, while others started attacking," Buddy explained.

A few months ago, the café got some machina from the Machine Faction to help them out. They were always very busy and needed the extra help. It doesn't look like it was such a good idea, if they really did malfunction.

But I still didn't know why all of these people were on board.

"Buddy, what are all of these people doing here?"

"These are the only people in this area that survived," he replied. I couldn't believe it. Out of all of the people in the square, only about 20 survived. It was normally packed with people, not including the one's in the café. That means about 40 people lost their lives.

I looked back at Buddy and asked, "Is the rest of Luca okay?"

He nodded. "As far as we know."

"Why didn't you wake me up! I can't believe you let me sleep through this!" I shouted at Buddy.

He looked at me apologetically. "To tell you the truth Rikku, we had some much to do and there was so much chaos. With all of that going on, we kinda forgot you were in the Cabin sleeping."

That's just great. In the time of danger, they forget about me. Such great friends.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" I inquired.

"No, the Luca officials would hardly let us take these people. We need to take these people to the safest place nearby. They don't want anyone to get involved."

"I guess we should pick up Pop's orders before we leave," I stated sadly, still looking at the damage.

"Yeah, let's go."

So we quickly flew over to the docks and loaded our stuff. Brother wasn't much help, but some of the other people, who weren't too distressed, helped us. Since we were heading to Mi'ihen anyways, we decided that would be as good a place as any to let the people off. That way, they wouldn't have far to go to get back home.

When we got to the travel agency, everyone got off. I went to go see Rin to get the machina, and to question him about Luca.

I found him inside, fixing some machina. He looked up and smiled.

"Ahh, Lady Rikku. You've come for Cid's orders I presume?" He's the only one that calls me 'Lady' in all of Spira, I swear. But, it's kinda nice sometimes.

"Yes, but I wanted to ask you something. Do you happen to know exactly what happened in Luca today?"

He looked confused and said he didn't know anything had happened at all. So, I had to explain everything to him. He took the news worse than I had.

"What!" he asked in disbelief. "I have some very close friends in Luca. I must go see if they are alright!" And with that, he took off running towards Luca.

"Rin, wait! They won't let you in!" I shouted after him, but he didn't listen. He just kept going.

The orders were on the counter. There weren't that many, so I sighed and took them back to the airship.

On the airship, things had calmed down considerably. Mostly due to the fact that there were only four people on board, including me. I told them what had just happened with Rin. There really wasn't a whole lot we could due. We decided to get back Home as fast as possible. Of course, we still had to go to Djose, but know I had an excuse to make it quick.

We finally arrived after a little while, and I got off to find Gippal. The sooner I found him, the sooner I got out of here. Then maybe I could figure out what had happened in Luca. It's not likely that machina would go haywire on their own, or for fiends to attack on impulse. Someone must have been behind it, but I suppose I need to figure what really happened first.

While I was thinking, I accidentally ran into someone. I fell down, but quickly got back up, blushing from embarrassment.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I ran into. I "

"It's okay really," the guy said, laughing. He was an Al Bhed, and was taller than me. "Aren't you Rikku, Princess of the Al Bhed?"

I nodded my head, "Yes."

He held out his hand for me to shake and smiled "Hi, I'm Zafram. I just got hired here."

I shook his hand and smiled as well. "Hi, nice to meet you. Do you happen to know where Gippal is by any chance? I need some parts from him for my dad."

He frowned and shook his head. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him around lately. Last I knew he went to Luca for something."

My mouth dropped and my eyes widened. "He was in _LUCA! _ Oh man, this is so not good! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! What am I gonna do? What if h"

Zafram stopped me. "Rikku! Calm down. What's the matter?"

I quickly told him what happened. "Well, he left a few days ago, so he should have been on his way back when it happened. I'm sure he's fine," he said, trying to come me down.

It wasn't working.

I may have disliked Gippal for always picking on me, but I never wanted anything bad to happen to him. So what, I might have liked him somewhat when we were younger, but now he was more of a pest than anything. Still, if anything happens to him, I'll be so upset. Ugh! If he comes back here, I'm gonna

"Hey, Cid's girl! Is there a problem? What are you doing here?"

Excuse me. I'll be right back after I go hurt someone.

A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 3. So, what do you think? Please let me know by reviewing. I need more reviews! Please?


	4. Serious Predicaments

A/n: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I've been really busy with schoolwork and my stupid teachers decided to give me a whole lot of projects over spring break. I mean, _hello, _it's called spring _break _for a reason. Whatever. I'd like to thank my two reviewers, **Cute-Kitty **and **AndreaRoberts.** Hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 and of course, sadly, never will.

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Chapter 4

So I marched over to Gippal and smacked him right in the face.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Rikku?" He yelled in pain. I can't really blame him for yelling though. The whole left side of his face was red. Y'know, I really didn't know I could hit that hard. But I really can't let him know, now can I?

"That was for scaring me to death! You could have been killed, but you don't seem to care though." I stopped for a second and realized that he had no idea what I was talking about. I could see the confusion in his eye. "You don't know what happened, do you?" He shook his head no. I sighed and told him about the attacks.

"That must have happened after I left, because I didn't hear anything about it. Y'know, you didn't have to hit me like that. You hit way to hard for a girl." He said, rubbing his cheek. Big baby.

"Whatever, I came for the parts Pops ordered, so hurry up and get them so I can get out of here." I all but ordered him. I really needed to get going so I could figure out exactly what was going on.

He just stared at me for a while. Then he slowly shook his head and started walking towards the temple.

"What?" I whined, wanting to know just what the look was for.

"Come on, let's go." He called, already in side the temple.

When I finally caught up with him, we went into his room. I forgot how messy it was in there. He's got more machina in there than there is in the rest of the temple.

"So, what exactly did you need?" He asked, looking at all of the machina.

I handed him a piece of paper with the orders on it. He looked over it, turned around, and started rummaging through the machina. He was mumbling to himself, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

He turned back around finally and said, "Most of this stuff you need won't be here until tomorrow. It was supposed to be here today, but obviously, some people can't handle delivering parts. So, it looks like you have two options. You can either stay here for the night, or go back to Cid and tell him that you couldn't get the parts. Then you'd have to come back tomorrow and get them."

I'd have to _WHAT!_ There is no way that I am staying here. But, it probably wouldn't go well with Pops if I told him I couldn't get everything. That man loves his machina. He would probably think Gippal's trying to cheat him out of his parts. He just might come over here and try to kill him, and we just can't have that now, can we?

I mean, I really wouldn't have a problem with it, but the Machine Faction would probably crumble. Those people are like little kids that need to be told exactly what to do, and be watched 24/7 or the just might blow the place up.

Man, I have to stay, but I'm going to make it hell on him, just because I'm saving his ass.

I looked at him. "It doesn't really look like I have much of a choice, does it? You know Pops will probably kill you if I come back empty handed, so I'm only staying here to save your life. You had better be thankful, because I could have just as easily gone Home and it wouldn't have bothered me in the least. So, anyways, where will I be staying?" I finished happily.

"Well, since all of the other rooms are taken by my workers, it looks like you will be staying in here. I'll go room with one of my workers." He replied.

To tell you the truth, I was really surprised by his answer. I had expected him to give me some old, run-down, dirty room. But his room? Now that's a shocker. Why is he being so nice to me anyways? Something's definitely up and I don't like it.

"Unless, of course, you _want_ me to stay with you. I know you do." He said, with that stupid smirk of his. Man, I just wanted to slap it right off his face.

"Yeah right, you jerk." I said as I walked out of the temple. He just _had _to say that, didn't he? He just can't resist it sometimes.

So I was walking around the outside of the temple. There really wasn't anyone around. Then something occurred to me: what happened to Zafram? It's like he just disappeared. Hmm…I'll have to ask Gippal about him later.

While I was thinking, I had reached the back of the temple. I wasn't really paying attention, but then I heard some strange noises. I looked around and saw about 20 fiends. Why on Earth would fiends be hanging around back here? There's never any around the temple, save the time when it was infested with them, but that was different.

I was getting ready to attack them when they suddenly disappeared. I was shocked. How was that even possible? I started walking over to where the fiends had previously been, when someone suddenly grabbed me from behind, and put their hand over my mouth.

I struggled but it was no use. Their grip was just too strong.

"Don't you dare interfere with my plans, _princess_, or I just might have to destroy your precious Al Bhed before I destroy the rest of Spira."

The voice was obviously a man's, but I didn't recognize it at all.

"Pretty soon, there's not goin' to be anything left here, and you're goin' with it." The man said.

I don't get scared very often, but I am now. I can't remember the last time I was this scared. I had no idea how I was going to get away from him, and I was really starting to panic.

I already tried to bite his hand, but he had it positioned so I couldn't. Then I tried kicking him, but still no luck. He must have shins of steel. What the hell does he want with me anyways?

"You're not gettin' away from me princess."

Can't he call me anything else besides "princess"? He's as bad as Gippal with the name-calling.

"Hey, Cid's girl! Where are you? I need to talk to you."

YES! I've never been so happy to hear that voice. Now, only if he would come back here, this guy would really get it.

The guy holding me must have known who was coming because he started dragging me to a crevice in the rock wall. There was no way I was going in there. Just then, Gippal came around the corner.

"What the- RIKKU!"

The guy holding me heard him, dropped me, and took off running. Gippal ran up to me.

"Are you alright Rikku? Who was that?" Like I knew!

"I'm fine, but I have no idea who that was. He said I wasn't to interfere with some plan of his, or he would destroy the Al Bhed before the rest of Spira. Then he said that this place was going to be gone, and I was going with it."

"Oh, shit." Gippal said, looking past me.

"What?" I said as I looked over my shoulder.

Uh-oh. We were in BIG trouble. There must have been 30-40 fiends there, and we're not talking small, wimpy ones. Oh no, we're talking Omegas, Humbabas, Zalamanders, and Ultima Weapons. Maybe this is what that gut meant. The two of us, against all of them. We were going to die. Gippal was right. Oh, shit.

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A/N: So? How was it? I've been seriously considering giving up on this fic. I don't know if anyone, besides my two reviewers, is reading this. So, I really don't like writing something if no one likes it. If you're reading this, and haven't reviewed, please do, and tell me whether or not I should continue. Thanks. 


	5. Investigating

A/N: I am so sorry for the terribly long wait. School and the final exams had taken all of my time. But school is finally out. You all probably thought I really did give up on this, but all of your wonderful reviews really encouraged me to keep writing. So thanks to:_** motko the dragon tamer, ****-insert amusing name here-, geekish, green-eyed-blonde, Falcone, Firaga, Cute-Kitty, **_and **_Andrea Roberts._** I really appreciate your comments. I know now people do read this. I tried to make this chapter extra long, since you had to wait so long. So, here is chapter five.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

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Chapter Five

Rikku's POV 

I had no idea how we were going to win. It was nearly impossible. I looked over at Gippal and could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, I don't think we have much of a choice. If we don't at least try to destroy them, then they will definitely attack the temple," Gippal said, not taking his eye off of the fiends.

"I know, but I don't think we're gonna win," I stated somberly.

"Come on, I thought you were the optimistic one."

"Well, it's a little hard to be optimistic right now! That's enough chit-chat, let's kill some fiends before they kill us," I said, getting ready to charge the fiends. Gippal and I were about to attack when there was a bright light followed by a loud explosion right where the fiends were.

Gippal slammed himself and me to the ground. Rocks flew everywhere and it was hard to breathe with all of the dust and smoke in the air.

As the smoke cleared, Gippal got up and helped me up as well. I was coughing my lungs out and could not talk.

"What just happened?" Gippal asked looking at where the fiends once stood. They were clearly dead because all that was there now was a bunch of rocks. I stopped coughing just soon enough to hear a voice behind us.

"It looks like I just saved your worthless lives."

We turned around to see a tall man standing there, wearing Yevon robes. He looked just like a traditional priest, baldhead and all. I already didn't like this guy because he was a Yevonite and because he called us worthless. Must be an Al Bhed hater.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking at the man wearily. I don't know how he got rid of the fiends. I could tell that the explosion was not from anything I have ever seen before. I'm pretty sure it was some weird type of powerful magic.

The man looked at me and smiled. "My name is Rufan, and I believe you owe me some gratitude for saving your lives." This guy was really pushing it and I was getting really angry. I could tell Gippal must have thought the same because he had that you-better-get-out-of-here-now-if-you-want-to-live look on his face.

"I don't think we owe you anything. Now, I strongly suggest that you get lost," Gippal said coldly. Can't really blame him though. I felt like hitting Rufan myself. The fact that he's a priest just makes matters worse. Yevonites don't really like Al Bhed to begin with, and especially not me and Gippal because we are so well known. It doesn't matter that I am Yuna's cousin or that machina are accepted now. They still hate us. And this guy expects us to worship the ground he walks on. Yeah right.

Rufan narrowed his eyes. "Well, just let us see who saves you next time." And with that, he turned and walked towards the highroad, robes swishing all the way.

"Well, that was…interesting," I stated uncertainly.

"Damn Yevon priests. Think they are better than everyone else," Gippal muttered.

"Right, this just adds to my to-do list. I'm going to Luca to investigate the area that was attacked. The guy who attacked me is threatening the Al Bhed and I'm going put a stop to it," I then turned to Gippal. "And you're gonna help me."

Gippal looked slightly shocked. "And here I was thinking I was gonna have to fight you to let me come. But, since you asked me to, I don't know if I wanna come," He said, smirking and looking proud.

That selfish, arrogant, little jerk.

I glared at him, grabbed his arm, and proceeded to drag him to the Celsius.

"You're coming whether you like it or not, buster."

"Okay, okay. No need to get violent," Gippal said laughing.

When we got on the airship, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra gave us weird looks.

"We're going to find out exactly what happened in Luca. So take us there, Brother. Now!" I said, walking over to him and looking up at him. I saw him open his mouth to protest. "No buts." I turned and walked over to Gippal. I could hear Brother mutter darkly before doing what I told him.

When I reached Gippal, he had a look of amusement on his face.

"What?" I asked. He just shook his head. I was really getting tired of this. I ask him something and he just shakes his head.

"So, what exactly are we looking for in Luca? You know they won't let us into the square," Gippal said, leaning back against the rail.

"Well, we will just have to find a way in. Who knows, I just might be able to convince the guards to let us in," I said, not really believing it though. I don't think Gippal did either.

I knew it was going to be tough, if not impossible to get in there. But, me being me, I had to be optimistic. Even if it is only once in a while.

The rest of the ride to Luca was silent. No one dared to make a sound, though I wasn't sure why.

When we arrived in Luca, Gippal and I quickly made our way to the square. I saw guards standing around and decided it would be wise to ask to get in before sneaking in.

I walked over to one burly looking guard. He was extremely tall and I was beginning to wonder if he was half Ronso. He looked up at me when I stopped in front of him. He glared at me. "What do you want?" He asked harshly.

I looked over my shoulder at Gippal and gave him a look that clearly said that he'd better keep his mouth shut, or else.

I looked back at the guard. "Yes, we're with the Lucan officials and we are here to investigate the attack. Now would you be so kind as to move aside and let us though?" I asked, very proud of my fabulous acting job.

The guard just stared at me and then he started to chuckle.

"Nice try Missy, but the Lucan officials already investigated, and no offense, but they sure don't dress like you. Now get lost before I call the real Lucan officials on you," He finished, with a menacing glare.

I wasn't about to give up just yet.

"For your information, we are specialist that were called in to determine what exactly attacked, how many there were and how strong they were. We are currently undercover and you are to let us by at once," I said, stomping my foot for emphasis, which was probably a bad idea, because I accidentally stomped his foot. Oops.

"You guys had better get lost now before I have you arrested. Now, get out of my sight!" He yelled.

I was ready to argue with him some more, but Gippal came up to me and started pulling me away. When we were out of earshot, Gippal started laughing.

"What are you laughing about? I don't see what's so funny about it," I stated, glaring at him. I seemed to do that a lot these days.

That's because you couldn't see yourself. You looked and sounded like an idiot. I can't believe you thought that would get us in. the guards probably thought you were just some little kid, with the way you were acting," Gippal said, finally done laughing at me.

I still don't see what was so funny about it. So what if I acted like a little kid, that's not funny, right?

"Whatever," I stated coolly, walking past Gippal.

"Aww, is Cid's little girl mad at me?" he asked mockingly.

"Does it look like it?" I asked swinging around to glare at him.

"Calm down Cid's girl. I was only kidding. Anyways, how are we getting into the square? Anymore bright ideas?"

"If you call me 'Cid's girl' one more time, you're gonna be a dead man. As for getting inside, I do have a bright plan, as a matter of fact," I said, extremely proud that I had just come up with something. It was way better than anything he could come up with.

"Really? And what would this idea be? Beating up all of the guards, maybe?"

I've noticed through the unfortunate years of knowing Gippal, that all of his plans involve violence. Thankfully, he never was put in charge of any missions. Half of Spira would be dead or wounded.

"No, my plan doesn't involve violence. I know of a secret entrance to the café. When I was talking to the guard, it didn't look like anyone patrols that area, so we shouldn't get caught snooping around."

"How exactly did you find this 'secret entrance' of yours?" Gippal inquired, looking like he didn't believe a word I said.

"I've had a lot of time to explore every inch of this city. I kinda stumbled across it one day," I stated, thinking back to when I found it. Good thing Gippal didn't know I literally stumbled across it, and nearly broke several bones in the process. He'd laugh his head off, at least until I smacked him a couple of times.

"Why didn't you mention this before? It would have saved a lot of effort." He still didn't believe me. Well, that was his problem. He doesn't have a reason not to.

"I had forgotten about it. You'd better be glad I just remembered it. Now, follow me," I said, walking off.

"Whatever," I heard him mumble, no doubt with an eye roll.

We had to get to the stairs leading towards Mi'ihen Highroad, so that meant I had to call Brother and get him to pick us up, and drop us off there, since no one was allowed in the square.

Once we got there, I preceded to climb down the slope, next to the stairs. The slope was on the same side as the hovers, so I had to make sure the attendant didn't see me. I finally made it to the bottom and landed on the ground. I looked up to see Gippal still standing at the top of the hill.

"What are you doing? Get your butt down here before someone sees you!" I hissed.

He mumbled something and started his trek down the slope. When he finally got to the ground, I started to lead the way through the overgrown brush.

"Where exactly are we going?" Gippal asked, next to me.

"This leads to the back of the city. The buildings are so close in Luca that it is nearly impossible to get behind them. This is the only way that I know of," I said, as I fought my way through one particularly nasty bush.

Sometime later, we finally made it to the back of the city. It was a little hard to find the café, since I normally don't see this side of the buildings. I finally spotted it and made my way over.

The door was slightly ajar, which startled me, because it was always locked. The rocks and other things that were normally blocking it had been strewn aside. I guess people were using this door to get out.

"So, you actually knew what you were talking about, Cid's girl. I'm impressed." I turned around, gave Gippal a glare, and went inside. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw all of the destruction.

Everything in the café was strewn everywhere. There was nothing left unbroken. Plaster from the ceiling was all over the floor, along with the glass from the windows and cups. All of the tables and chairs were destroyed. It looked like someone had wanted to make sure nothing was left intact. I continued into the deserted café, with Gippal right behind me.

"I think we now know this was done by fiends," Gippal said, looking at the damage.

"Huh? How can you tell?" I asked quietly, feeling awkward talking in the disaster struck place.

"Well," he said crossing his arms over his chest, "you've been around machina just as long as I have. Does this look like anything a machina could have done?" He was looking at me expectantly.

I looked back over at all of the damage. I hate to admit it, but he was right. Even though everything is ruined and broken, it's just too _neat _to have been done by machina, or a bomb.

Machina don't exactly have any intelligence. Everything they do is programmed into there system. So, I guess it's kinda like artificial intelligence. True, someone _could _have programmed the machina to do this, but they would still have had their glitches, so it is unlikely that all of this would have been done without any evidence of a machina exploding. They tend to explode when they malfunction or overheat. Gippal knows all about that, from a first-hand experience. Hence, the eye patch.

"You're right," I finally said, after thinking it over for a while. I guess I was right about those fiends at Djose too. The fiends attacked Luca, and attempted too attack Djose Temple. I told Gippal this and he seemed to agree.

"There's no other logical explanation. Everything points to them, but why would they just group together like that and attack?" Gippal asked more to himself than to me.

"Let's go ask Shinra. He supposedly knows everything," I said.

We headed back to the Celsius and filled everyone in on what we discovered.

"So, now we know that fiends attacked Luca. We just need to figure out why," Buddy said, as he paced around the bridge.

"Can the fiends actually attack like that? They don't really have a reason to, do they?" I asked, while sitting on the steps by Shinra's chair.

"No, it is absolutely impossible for fiends to attack on their own freewill," Shinra finally decided to join the conversation. He had previously been watching us, like he was observing our stupidity. I really hat that kid sometimes.

"So, someone is controlling them?" Gippal asked, even though it sounded like he already knew the answer.

"Precisely." Shinra acted so smug, like he knew the answer to every question in Spira. Which he didn't.

"But how can the fiends be controlled?" I asked, completely lost. I really didn't get how some person could control the unsent.

"It's quite simple really. Fiends are not very bright creatures. Their freewill is extremely weak. This is due mostly to the fact that they were once humans, who died, and were never sent. They could not accept death, but they allowed themselves to become fiends, rather than going to the Farplane. Their reasons for doing so are unknown.

"Generally, fiends only attack because they feel threatened, but they would never attack so many people at once, because they are basically too scared to. Because of their essentially non-existent freewill, it makes them very easy to control. It would just take someone with a strong mind and body."

Wow, I guess Shinra does know what he is talking about. Sometimes, at least.

"Okay, so if it is possible, who would want to destroy Spira?" I inquired, thinking hard about the matter. I really didn't expect an answer, since no one could possibly know the answer, so it was kinda of a rhetorical question.

"How the heck am I going to know that? I'm not some freakin' psychic. Besides, isn't it _your_ job to figure this stuff out? Now, leave me alone, you insolent brat!" Shinra exclaimed. He obviously didn't know what a rhetorical question was. And he claims to know everything. Yeah right.

"Geez, he wasn't suppose to answer it," I said, walking over to Gippal. I personally thought it was kinda funny. It's not everyday you see a little kid try to tell someone off.

Gippal, on the other hand, looked mildly shock at Shinra's little outburst.

"What did you do to the poor kid, Rikku?"

* * *

So, how did you like it? Review and let me know. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker. I've already started working on it, so, hopefully it will be. 


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